Today is "Pajama Day" at Younger Daughter's public elementary school. She actually doesn't have any pajamas -- she just sleeps in her clothes. (So sue me!) Sainted Husband dressed her in clothes that look as pajama-like as possible, and they were off to the bus stop this morning.
I really really don't get the point of Pajama Day, or Silly Hat day, or Wear Something Purple day. I don't understand why people think it's fun or amusing, and I wouldn't have found it fun or amusing as a kid.
Perhaps it's because I'm a nonconformist at heart, as are both of my kids, and these "let's all wear the same unusual clothing item" days are really about conformity.
Nobody finds it fun or amusing if one kid decides to wear his pajamas to school; his parents would probably get an icy message from the school about appropriate dress. No, it's only perceived as fun or amusing if the whole school does it together on the same day.
Bah, humbug! I say.
northTOmom has an excellent post on this topic:
ReplyDeleteSmells Like School Spirit
Did you tell your kids about Santa?
ReplyDeleteHow is Santa relevant to this post?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if you allow your kids to have any fun or If that is conformist fun and a no no
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you go squat under a bridge some place?
ReplyDeleteTo add: Even more offensive are silly gimmicks the principal pledges to pull off if the kids read more. One local stunt had the principal lug her desk onto the roof where she spent the entire day.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, lest you think I'm out to kill all fun too, what I hated about those ridiculous contests is each time the students read, they logged their reading logs onto a master graph. There was a goal and the principal promised to do something crazy if the kids met that goal.
No, I'm not out to ban fun. Hardly. What I didn't like about those condescending contents is that school keeps inventing new and ingenious ways to kill reading. Then, in lockstep motion, just as we predicted, the kids hate reading. Voila! Mission accomplished.
Now the school tears its hair out. The kids aren't reading! Oh, dear, we have NCLB, what shall we do?
I'll tell you what to do. Ban reading logs. Ban stupid assignments with dippy questions that cause children to groan in despair. Cultivate a love of reading. Then the principal won't have to die her hair green, climb a chimney or wade in the mud.
Reading is not a gimmick. It's a way of life. For some here, it's the only life!
But FedUp, that's not what your post is about. Sorry for the tangent. I couldn't resist...
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